Zoo School a powerful draw for family from Alabama

Herman Sample and his daughter, Maya, moved to Lincoln from Alabama recently. One of the major factors in deciding on the move was so Maya could attend the Lincoln Public Schools Science Focus Program, commonly referred to as Zoo School.

It’s less than a week into the school year, but the Samples already are confident they made the right choice.

“It’s been great,” Maya said.

They’re less confident about experiencing their first Nebraska winter. The average January temperature in Alabama is 54 degrees, compared to 33 degrees in their new home state.

“Everyone keeps warning me about the winters,” Herman said. “We’d have snow days in Alabama but by the afternoon the snow would be melted.”

“We wore shorts on Christmas,” Maya added.

So why the decision, despite the looming chilly temperatures?

In August 2017, the Samples were already leaning toward making the 1,000-mile move from Tuscaloosa when they visited Lincoln to witness the solar eclipse. That’s when they first heard about Zoo School, which is located inside the Lincoln Children’s Zoo and combines hands-on experience with classroom learning. The more they heard, the more they liked - and the more they knew they wanted to move to Lincoln.

Maya, a junior, now attends Lincoln Southwest High School for part of the morning before traveling to Zoo School for the rest of the day. She likes the block scheduling at Southwest and the way teachers collaborate. At Zoo School, she loves being near the animals, especially because she wants to study veterinary medicine in college.

Beyond the classroom, there’s one more LPS experience she really enjoys so far - the transportation that’s offered between Southwest and Zoo School.

“It’s exciting to be on a school bus for the first time in seven years.”

The 20-year-old Zoo School is one example of the many choices that LPS offers students for them to succeed and achieve - 39 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, six comprehensive high schools and a variety of high school alternative programs.

The Zoo School enrolls roughly 100 students from grades nine through 12, both from public and private schools. Students who attend LPS focus programs such as Zoo School remain students at their home schools, where they can participate in activities, athletics and social events.

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